The Key, or Keys, to a Healthy Marriage.

I may not have ever been married, but I have witnessed some of the strongest marriages I’ve ever known. People who have been together since high school, those who have met after a horrible first marriage, no matter how they ended up together they have found a way to make it work.

Love is important for a healthy marriage, everybody knows that. However, it isn’t what keeps you on track. Love, alone, is not enough for a healthy marriage.

We are never taught the skills of marriage in school; we need to learn as we go, learn to forgive, and learn from our mistakes. It is no surprise that so many marriages break down, there are so many struggles you go through in married life, and both of you need to be prepared for the journey.

So here is a list of life skills that are needed for a well functioning marriage, as stated by Danielle Grossman, MFT, on psychcentral.com. Take a look and ask yourself; which of them are you good at? Where do you need to improve?

An ability to manage the full range of your emotions without acting out destructively toward yourself or others. (Acting out destructively means channeling your internal feelings into behaviors that cause emotional or physical damage to yourself or others.)

An understanding of what helps you to manage emotions, and a willingness and ability to seek those supports when necessary.

An ability to tolerate feeling a lack of connection to your partner sometimes.

An ability to disconnect from other people, technology, and other types of stimulation, and to be alone with yourself.

An awareness of your physical needs and a willingness to make choices that optimize your physical health.

An ability to be emotionally present for a loved one even when you are unable to do anything to fix his or her pain or suffering.

An ability to laugh at yourself.

An ability to see how your actions, even when well-meant, can sometimes negatively affect others.

An ability to apologize and take responsibility for the way your actions affect others.

An ability to communicate verbally, directly, gently, and respectfully to others when their actions affect you negatively.

An ability to receive critical feedback without blocking it through defensive tactics such as denial, shifting of blame, playing the victim, or bullying.

An ability to identify what you need or want from others and communicate that verbally and directly.

An ability to tolerate feeling disappointed by others without acting out destructively toward yourself or others.

An ability to tolerate the experience of having others disappointed in you, without acting out destructively toward yourself or others.

An ability to step back, gain perspective on any given situation, and see it in the context of the big and complex picture of life.

An ability to step back and see the whole picture of yourself or another person, in all of its complexity, shades of grey, and seemingly contradictory parts.

An ability to have another person see all the different parts of you, even those parts that you dislike or detest.

An ability to tolerate sometimes feeling misunderstood or inaccurately perceived by others.

An ability to allow space for another person’s thoughts, ideas, perceptions, or feelings, even if they seem wrong to you.

An ability to ask for space for your own thoughts, ideas, perceptions, or feelings, even if they may cause conflict or upset others.

An acceptance that there are pros and cons to any choice, and that there is no way to avoid sacrifice, compromise, and dissatisfaction.

An ability to move beyond your own thoughts, ideas, or fears, and truly understand how another person is feeling.

An ability to verbally and directly show that you understand how the other person is feeling.

A basic competency in navigating the world professionally, socially, and practically.

An ability to face your aging and death, and the aging and death of others, without acting out destructively toward yourself or others.

An ability to let go of pain from the past, forgive yourself or others, and refocus on the present moment.

A basic level of competence in organizing your daily life and managing time.

An ability to tolerate feeling bored and dissatisfied.

An ability to seek and explore ways to grow, expand, and change.

An ability to set limits and boundaries with others and with your environment in order to take care of your own emotional, mental, and physical health.

An ability to recognize the experiences of feeling powerless or out of control, and to tolerate those feelings without acting out destructively on yourself or others.

An ability to respect and accept other people’s boundaries, even if they upset you, without acting out destructively toward yourself or others.

An ability to tolerate the possibility of being rejected or abandoned by your loved ones without trying to ‘close off their exit door’ through controlling behaviors, inducing guilt or threatening to be destructive to yourself or to them if they leave you.

An ability to remain reasonably calm during difficult discussions or conflicts with others.

An ability to agree to disagree, make compromises and create solutions to conflict.”

But remember, no one is ever perfect on every single one of these skills. No body is perfect. The important thing is to work on them and understand each other. If you and your partner are committed to working on your marriage, then it is most likely an extremely healthy one.

Again, I have never been married myself, so I am not in any means an expert on the subject, but that list looks rather daunting. Feel free to share your thoughts, maybe it will prepare me for marriage one day.